


She has a new partner now

by AK_Ruston



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Angsty at first but it will get better, Dogs of AO3, F/M, Puppy Fic, RTR, Rock The Rink, fix-it fic of sorts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-09-27 06:38:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20403325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AK_Ruston/pseuds/AK_Ruston
Summary: “Because I’m finally free to make decisions that are just for me. This decision to get a dog does not impact anyone but myself. Not you or my family or the outcome of the Olympics or even my financial future. Just me. It’s not so much about saying yes to everything I had to say no to before; it’s more about becoming a normal adult. Settling down a bit, having some stability, and finally having that one person, or dog, in this case, that is excited to see me whether I’ve been gone for one minute or one hour and loves me unconditionally and never lets me down.” 💜





	1. Chanel

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to post this yet, but when I found out today is International Dog Day...I had to 🙈 It was a sign
> 
> This AU takes place starting in September 2019 and works through the Rock the Rink tour

**Early September 2019**

Scott’s public announcement of his engagement still felt raw and the wound of him not telling her the news himself had just barely scabbed over. Tessa had never in her wildest dreams imagined everything in the last year happening the way it had. Part of her, the heaviest and saddest part of her, just wanted to wake up and have a do-over at life. Maybe if they had won silver instead of gold? What would that life look like in 2019?

She had been under so much stress from the tour planning and ticket sales not where she wanted them to be, she felt like she needed a distraction. She really was carrying the weight of everything alone this time around and she was tired of it all, mentally and physically tired, but she was not a quitter.

Tessa was only four weeks out from the start of their tour. Her tour? She hoped it was still _their_ tour. She was holding her breath that Scott would stay present. He had been drifting in and out; his distance had been mental as well as physical since last December and she hated it. They were not _them_ anymore. This isn’t exactly what she had wanted and she didn’t think he really wanted them to be this way either.

She didn’t know why the words tumbled so freely out of her mouth that afternoon while lying on the shores of Lake Huron with her older sister, Jordan. But they had, and maybe it had been in the back of her mind for the last year. Or maybe it was too much sun in the last few days, or too much of the rosé they had drunk with lunch. Maybe she was trying to fill the void in her heart. Or maybe, just maybe, her tired brain had stopped thinking clearly and her heart finally took over.

Whatever it was, she had definitely not thought this through, she realized four days later as she stood on the front porch of a quaint brick house in Etobicoke, just a few minutes south of the Toronto airport.

Tessa’s friend Kat had put her in contact with a lovely woman who had recognized the five-time Olympic medalist immediately, and she tried poorly to hide her excitement when Tessa had spoken to her on the phone last night.

“Tessa!” the woman exclaimed as she opened the screen door. “So nice to meet you!” She held out her hand and Tessa was impressed with the firm handshake she received.

The older woman exuded warmth and something familiar and comfortable and Tessa couldn’t help the words that formed on their own accord. “Please, call me Tess. All my friends do.”

The woman smiled and motioned for Tessa to follow her. “We’re all outside, just keep your shoes on.”

Tessa nodded and took in her surroundings as they walked the short distance through the overly warm house from the front door to the back door. The house had a somewhat dated and eclectic décor and was silent aside from the tinkling sound of a wind chime blowing in through the open windows. September was as warm as usual and the humidity unrelenting. As much as she loved summer, Tessa was looking forward to getting on the ice next week, even though it meant the pit in her stomach would be opening back up.

In the middle of the grassy backyard was a round, short metal fence. Inside that was the reason she was here. Tessa knew the second she laid her eyes on the tiny girl that she was the one.

The following week, the pit in Tessa’s stomach was gaping as she waited to disembark her flight. Her plane had just arrived from Montreal, and she knew from the text message Scott had sent her three minutes ago that he was already waiting at baggage claim for her. His flight had arrived twenty minutes before hers. She hadn’t asked where he was flying in from this time, London or Tampa or somewhere exotic, the pit in her stomach really didn’t want to know right now anyway.

Scott’s eyebrows shot up as Tessa put her duffle bag on the floor between her feet. He could have sworn he had heard the bag let out a yip. He had never seen her use that bag before; his brain noted another change to her previous travel consistency.

“How was your flight?” She forced out the awkward small talk that they had with one another now and she ignored the noise coming from the bag between her feet.

Scott could not. His ears were on high alert and his body was tense. A pitiful whining noise was emanating from her bag. _Does she not hear that?_

“Tess—” he started but had to stop as the baggage carousel started moving and suitcases came flying down the shoot. Tessa's was first off and he leapt towards the moving bag to lift it off for her. They might not be on friendly speaking terms, but some things were so ingrained he couldn’t stop them, even if he tried, and he really had.

As he wheeled the suitcase towards her, he noticed she was now crouched down in front of her bag. _What is she doing?_

“Hey, Kiddo, do you have more than one bag today or—” his voice died in his throat as he watched her move in what seemed like slow motion to him.

She stood up and turned around, her arms filled with a puppy.

_A dog? Why does she have a dog with her?_

His brows knitted together first, but he couldn’t help the silly grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth and since he really couldn’t do both at the same time, his smile became wide as the rest of his face relaxed.

“And who do we have here?” he asked in the softest voice that Tessa _knew_ was only reserved for babies and animals. He had slowed his walk from brisk to a crawl, not wanting to spook the puppy…or Tessa.

Tessa held the puppy up a bit, burrowing her nose into the soft, short fur of the puppy’s neck. She inhaled deeply before responding, trying to quell her nerves. She wasn’t sure how he was going to react to all of this.

“This is Chanel. She’s mine and I have one more suitcase,” she announced without a waver in her voice as she looked up at Scott. The nearly monotone sound almost made her flinch, _almost_. She had never been this icy to Scott.

“Oh!” he replied, the surprise and hurt from not knowing about Tessa getting a dog was not even hidden in his voice. He laid it right out on the proverbial table and turned abruptly to retrieve her second bag. He needed a moment to collect his thoughts anyways.

_A dog? When did she get it? Her? Did she say it was female? I think my mind blanked out. Chanel seems like a female name and it is wearing a pink body harness. A dog though? Who is she leaving it with when we start on tour in three weeks?_

He spotted her second bag and paused his train of thought while he lifted it off the carousel.

_Jesus this one is heavy. _Sure enough, there was an overweight tag on the top that he noticed after he had set the bag down on its wheels.

_What is she going to do with the dog while we’re rehearsing now? Kate isn’t with her, _he wondered to himself as he wheeled bag number two towards Tessa and the puppy in her arms. _Chanel._ _What kind of name is that for a dog? I thought for sure if she ever got a dog it would be named Audrey or something old granny like. But Chanel? I suppose it is a Tess sort of name. And it is French. _

He shook his head in bewilderment as he moved closer towards Tessa and the silly grin returned to his face. He could not school himself around her, even if he tried. Every feeling was always etched on his face. He was an emotional open book and that’s why he knew that Tessa knew he wasn’t truly happy or content or actually in real love with the other woman he was currently spending the bulk of his time with.

Scott took his time looking over the dog. Chanel’s fur was short and dark, akin to Tessa’s in colour, aside from a white stripe that ran between her eyes and down her chest. Her large ears stood up tall, pink on the inside and dark on the outside. Her eyes are what caught Scott’s attention though, a green nearly as gorgeous as Tessa’s. The puppy stared back at Scott, her tiny tail wagging. She loved people and was eager to meet everyone. Her mouth opened slightly, and her tongue hung out as she panted with excitement, making it look like she was smiling at Scott.

Scott had to hold back every fiber of his being not to run full tilt towards the puppy and scoop her into his arms. He was supposed to still be mad at Tessa, but how could he be in this moment when there was a puppy to snuggle and love on?

He stopped a foot away from Tessa, lining up the suitcase next to it’s slightly lighter counterpart.

“You...you never told me you were...”

He let his voice trail off, they never really spoke in full sentences anyway, and he wasn’t sure he had the right to accuse her of that when he was guilty of just the same lately.

“It was sort of a spur of the moment thing,” she admitted as she gently stroked the top of Chanel’s head with her hand. “Just last week. Very uncharacteristic of me, I know.”

She laughed, and he could tell it was her nervous laugh. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was admitting this out loud for the first time or just because it was him. It seemed to take longer and longer for both of them to relax back into their normal rhythm every time they were apart and that scared him.

“I’m not sure I’ll keep the name. It’s the one the breeder had given her, but I thought it was a sign. That it was the right thing, you know...”

He did. He knew her affinity for Chanel, even designing her ensuite bathroom in a Chanel theme. _But a dog? A dog named Chanel? _It would have to grow on him, he decided.

“Are you...bringing her with? On tour, I mean?” he stumbled over his words as his brain tried to figure out the logistics.

“Yes,” she snapped defensively as her eyes whipped up to glare at him. “We’re partners now. Wherever I go, she goes.”

Scott was physically taken aback at her use of the word partner. That was _their_ word. He nodded anyway, itching for her to offer him a chance to get close to the puppy.

“She’s a French Bulldog. I know your thoughts on a rescue dog, and she is from a breeder, but leftover from the previous litter. So technically I was rescuing her and—”

“Tess,” he started, his voice soft and gentle. “May I hold her?”

Tessa looked up at Scott, she had half expected him to lay into her about getting a dog from a breeder, or even just about getting a dog on her own because that was something they had planned to do together. They had planned to do a lot of things together that had never fully materialized over the past year.

“Of course,” she whispered, now not trusting her voice to maintain its coolness. She was feeling emotional as she watched Scott gather Chanel in his arms and cradle her and press kisses to her short, wrinkly face.

“What made you get a dog now? We kinda have a tour coming up, T.” He tried to keep his voice low and gentle, he didn’t really want her defensive walls going up any further or her voice to rise above where he knew she liked to keep it when they were in public.

Tessa sighed. That was nearly identical to what Jordan’s response had been when they’d had their discussion on the beach nearly two weeks ago, so she felt she would go with a similar answer.

“Because I’m finally free to make decisions that are just for me. This decision to get a dog does not impact anyone but myself. Not you or my family or the outcome of the Olympics or even my financial future. Just me. It’s not so much about saying yes to everything I had to say no to before; it’s more about becoming a normal adult. Settling down a bit, having some stability, and finally having that one person, or dog, in this case, that is excited to see me whether I’ve been gone for one minute or one hour and loves me unconditionally and never lets me down.”

He didn’t respond immediately. He felt those words, especially the last four, pierce his heart and he wasn’t sure he could give her the response she wanted to hear anyways. He knew this was partially about him and everything he couldn’t and didn’t give her as much as it was about what she couldn’t and didn’t give him last year.

Scott ended up keeping the focus on the puppy instead of what hung unfinished between them. “She’s very sweet, T. What will you do with her while we’re on the ice though?”

“I’ve taken her everywhere with me this past week and I’ve yet to have any trouble finding people to help watch her. Besides, that’s my concern, not yours. You already have your hands full.”

Scott knew Tessa meant his fiancée and the wedding planning and her incessant text messages and phone calls about anything and everything, including constantly checking up on him to make sure he wasn’t spending any extra time with Tessa off the ice that wasn’t tour related. She had clamped down hard the last few months and Scott had thought it was something that would fade but it hadn’t and the engagement ring only made her dig harder into her insecurities and shorten his leash further, so to speak.

Tessa pried Chanel from Scott’s hands and put her back in her soft-sided crate, with only minor protest from both the puppy and Scott. Tessa put the strap of the carrier back over her shoulder and Chanel pressed her nose against the mesh side to look at Scott, whining until he put his hand up against the side for her to sniff him.

“Are you ready to find our ride to the hotel?” Tessa asked Scott with a nod of her head towards the exit of the airport. “We have a schedule to keep today and Chanel needs a bathroom break.”

Scott nodded, intrigued as to how the logistics of the next two and a half months would work. He had a fiancée to appease and Tessa now had a puppy to care for, and together they had their tour, their _baby,_ to produce and skate in. The tour would be demanding and require full, undivided attention from both Tessa and Scott, and they were seemingly starting things off without any synchronicity or deliberate focus on the task at hand. They had multiple external distractions and a lack of communication that could end up being disastrous in more ways than one.

“So, a dog, eh?” Scott chuckled as he followed behind her, pushing a luggage cart piled high with their three suitcases and two skate bags.

_______________________________________________ 

Meet the real life Chanel and inspiration for this fic, I did change her eye colour:


	2. Stage 5 Clinger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott heard her voice before he saw her. She had sidled up to the hotel bar he had been sitting at, two big guys between them, and Scott knew she didn’t see him on the other side. After he had left her room, he had gotten himself dressed in all black, jeans and t-shirt, and pulled a Jays cap down low over his hair. As it turned out, he wasn’t ready to sleep either.
> 
> “Gin and tonic, please,” she said to the bartender.
> 
> “Comin’ right up,” he responded, grabbing a glass from the rack and flipping it up in the air to show off.
> 
> “Actually, make it a double.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the warm reception on this new fic!  
A little bit angsty before things smooth out and get better between our duo...

**Mid-September 2019**

Tessa typed furiously; her fingers flying across her laptop keyboard while Chanel slept on her lap, keeping her both warm and eerily relaxed given the number of stressors in her life right now.

A loud knock on her hotel room door jolted her out of her thoughts. She sighed as she pushed the rolling desk chair away from the workstation and gathered Chanel in her arms. She made her way over to the door as the interrupter knocked again, calling loudly.

“Tess!”

She rolled her eyes. _He’s early. Why?_ she wondered to herself, slightly annoyed that he wasn’t keeping with his usual tardiness.

She needed more time; she had not finished her paper or mentally prepared herself for being around him tonight. Tessa breathed out a heavy gush of air in an attempt to settle her now anxious body as she unlatched the security lock and pulled the door open with one hand, still cradling a now wide-awake Chanel in the other.

“Yeah?” she asked, trying to keep the bitchiness she felt to a simmer for the sake of their upcoming tour and having to skate with each other..._a lot._..for the next two and a half months.

Scott shifted nervously from one foot to the other. They felt so off, their relationship was bad and tense and awkward and he hated it but didn’t know how to even begin to repair it or what to say. So he ignored it and went for the easier thing.

“Sorry, I know you said I was to come over after seven but I thought maybe we could grab dinner before the conference call?” He winced slightly, knowing she would see right through his poorly veiled excuse.

Tessa was slightly taken aback. It had been _forever_ since he had initiated something like this. She couldn’t help but wonder if he had an ulterior motive though, something to do with the puppy in her arms perhaps. Tessa looked down at the watch on her wrist and held back the distain she wanted to emote.

“Scott, it’s barely five o’clock. I have a paper I need to finish so I can submit it tonight after our meeting—”

“I could watch Chanel while you work and then we could eat?”

_There it is._

He had figured out a way to weasel himself into her room to get at her puppy. She couldn’t help the frustrated sigh that left her body. She knew he wasn’t going to leave her alone until she gave in. He had a weakness for dogs, especially puppies and she knew he probably felt hurt over how she did this alone, but _he_ had moved on from _them_ and she figured it was time she did too, regardless of how much pain it caused her heart.

“Alright,” she huffed as she stepped aside and held the door open for Scott to enter.

As he did so, he was immediately overcome with a sense of nostalgia and sadness as he breathed in the scent of the vanilla candle she had been burning on her nightstand. Memories from the last few years came flooding back to him as he walked slowly towards the source. He wanted to run. He changed his mind about his offer. _Being in her room was maybe a bad idea after all_. He turned around abruptly and Tessa plowed into his chest.

“Scott!” she hissed, annoyed at him that he had stopped walking into her room and annoyed at herself for being so out of synch and unable to foresee his movements.

“Sorry,” he mumbled and turned back around to continue walking. He looked around her room as he chewed on his thumbnail; it looked nearly identical to his. A king bed and a sofa, a decent sized kitchenette, the standard work station along one wall, and a television hanging above, but he immediately noticed a white ceramic bowl filled with water and a matching empty one, he assumed was for food, sitting off to one side and a soft-sided dog crate set up next to the king bed, different than the carrier Tessa had used in the airport.

“I lucked out, the hotel is pet friendly,” she stated, filling the dead air with something, _anything_, to make the awkwardness swirling around them feel less suffocating. “They had the bowls waiting in the room and that little bed,” she said, pointing towards the round fluffy Sherpa cushion lying on the floor next to the sofa.

Scott had missed it upon first glance. He nodded his head, unsure of what to say to that. _What would she have done if the hotel didn’t accept dogs?_ _Knowing T, she probably would have just stayed elsewhere and left me here at this hotel by myself._

“There’s a dog park across the street, and treats at the front desk but she has food sensitivities and I didn’t inquire yet about what brand they are using but—”

“Could I hold her, T?”

Tessa stopped talking, it was more like nervous rambling really, and brought her eyes up from the ceramic dog dishes she had been fixated on to look at Scott. She took a second to _really_ look at him. The spark and joy was long gone from his face. It had been replaced with a seemingly permanent melancholic gloom. It hurt her heart to see him like this. She didn’t fully understand why he wasn’t overjoyed that he was getting married. He was finally moving on from her and from skating to have what she thought he always had wanted; a wife and maybe...maybe even children someday with his..._wife_.

“T?”

She shook her head slightly, pulling herself from her thoughts. She hadn’t wanted her mind to drift down that path, especially tonight, and yet it went anyways. She blinked her eyes quickly in an attempt to remove the excess liquid that had formed there without her permission.

“Here,” she whispered as she shoved Chanel into Scott’s arms and turned around quickly before he could see her tears.

She sat herself back down at the desk and with a flip of a switch she powered down her emotions and focused on her urgent task at hand. She hadn’t actually procrastinated and left it to the last minute, she just had not had sufficient time to sit and write for extended periods of time. She preferred to get papers done all in one go, without having her train of thought interrupted and here she was, not even half way through and her biggest interruption was now holding the one thing that calmed her down enough so she could focus on writing.

Scott looked between the sofa and the bed and opted to lay on the bed, even though it felt weird knowing Tessa would be lying there later, right next to where his body was now, missing each other by hours; they still couldn’t get their timing right and it seemed they never would.

Chanel was beside him, lying on her side as Scott scratched her belly. He wasn’t sure if Tessa would get annoyed if he made too much noise playing with Chanel, he knew she could tune him out, but that was before and now things were..._different_...between them. They were tense and out of synch and it was confusing, at least to him, how exactly they should act around each other as former lovers, former soul mates, and former best friends.

For now they were just barely friends and co-workers and once the tour was over, they really wouldn’t be co-workers either and he didn’t know how to be _just_ Tessa’s friend. They had always been more to each other than just that one thing, they had always worn multiple hats, and now the space around them felt hollow.

“Oh, are you cold?” Scott asked Chanel, his voice one octave higher than usual as he put his hand on the puppy’s back, after noticing her shivering.

Tessa paused her typing for a moment, allowing her mind to drift. He was using his baby and pet voice and it made Tessa’s heart melt. She was trying to ignore it but she just couldn’t. She loved it when he was soft, and she knew she needed to somehow not love it so much.

“She probably needs her sweater now that she’s not on my lap,” Tessa offered without moving eyes off her computer screen, she didn’t want to look at him right now. She imagined he was curled up on _her_ bed with _her_ dog. _Her_ things that should be _their_ things. She made a mental note to request a linen change later tonight before focusing back on the perfectly worded paragraph that she had just come up with in her mind and had to get typed out before he interrupted her again.

Her fingers flitted over the keyboard, she had always typed faster than him, but this was next level and his was impressed at her increased speed. Before Scott could ask where he would find the sweater, she continued. “I put her outfits in the top drawer,” Tessa said as she pointed to the bank of drawers next to her desk. “And her toys are in the bottom drawer. Just watch her on the bed, it’s too high for her to jump down from there.”

Scott scooped Chanel up in his arms and crossed the room to stand next to Tessa. He timidly opened the top drawer, unsure exactly what she meant by _outfits_. He half expected the drawer to be full of frilly pink dresses and tutus and was somewhat relieved to find it was not. There was a warm jacket and booties, some sweaters of varying thicknesses and a few pairs of pyjamas and some kind of onesie outfits. Some items were pink, but nothing was overly frilly, and they all seemed…_practical_. For a dog anyways. Scott chose a pink sweater with white polka dots and set about getting it on Chanel. She was patient and surprisingly tolerant of Scott dressing her.

Next, he opened the drawer Tessa said contained toys and Chanel barked. Scott smiled down at Chanel and stroked the top of her head with his hand.

“That’s the first I’ve heard you speak. I was beginning to think you didn’t have a voice,” he chuckled as he pulled a plush donut toy from the drawer and closed it again.

“Frenchies don’t bark that often. She probably wants to play with her toys that you just showed her,” Tessa said as she continued to type. “Her favourite is the red ball.”

Scott squeezed the plush donut, making it squeak, and Chanel barked again, her short tail wagging furiously.

“You like that, dontcha?” Scott cooed at Chanel. “Is she full grown, T?”

“More or less, she’s just small boned so she’s petite for her breed. Something like we were...always the smallest.”

Scott nodded with a smile. He knew all about being the smallest and still hated it, but was eternally glad Tessa had been the smallest in her family. “How old is she?”

“Eighteen months,” she replied, her fingers slowing for a fraction of a second and then picking up speed again.

“Oh, I thought she was younger,” Scott admitted while opening the drawer to find the ball Tessa mentioned.

“Yeah, I told you, small frame, just give me a few minutes to finish my train of thought here and I’ll take a break,” Tessa sighed.

“Sorry,” Scott mumbled as he found the red ball in the drawer and settled himself on the floor.

Scott busied himself playing fetch with Chanel while Tessa worked. After about ten minutes she finally relaxed into the silence in the room, silence aside from the thud of the ball hitting the floor when Scott threw it and the jingling sound of Chanel’s dog tags jostling as she chased after the ball.

Scott was beginning to get bored of tossing the ball but Chanel most definitely was not. He kept looking up at Tessa, but she had her back to him and continued to type.

The silence between them felt awkward instead of comfortable and he felt the compulsive need to fill the dead air with the sound of his voice, as much as he knew Tessa did not want him to. He had switched from the ball to throwing the donut, it didn’t go as far, but Chanel busied herself longer after retrieving the plush, attempting to kill the squeaker buried inside.

Tessa could tune out a great many things, but the incessant squeak, squeak, squeak coming from her dog coupled with her skating partner grinding his teeth on the pen he had swiped off her desk had maxed her out. She hit save on her document and closed the lid to her laptop.

“Alright,” she huffed out as she spun around in the chair. “Where are we going for dinner?”

*

She had gone along with his suggestion because the cafe had a patio and was dog friendly, and he claimed the reviews online had raved about their sandwiches and pies.

She had also gone along with his suggestion to go for a short walk after dinner because she had indulged on the lemon meringue pie for dessert, how could she pass that up, and she was so full she could barely move.

She tried to justify in her head that this walk could count as the pre-bedtime walk she had slotted into her schedule since getting Chanel, because they had a conference call with their tour managers at seven thirty and previous calls had run on the two to three hour range and she _still_ had her paper to finish and submit before midnight.

So she had to put her foot down when he followed Tessa to her hotel room door after their walk and asked if he should come in and keep Chanel entertained.

“Did you have nothing else to do?” she snapped and immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it,” she added, her face flushing with embarrassment.

Scott took a step back from Tessa and Chanel.

“No, I deserved that, T. But you’re right, I actually don’t have anything else to do and I’m tired of answering text messages about colour swatches and table seating arrangements and you have the cutest distraction from my real life and I just—”

“_Scott_—”

“It’s okay, I’ll give you some space to do what you need to do and I’ll be back at seven thirty for the conference call.”

He turned and started down the long hallway towards the elevators.

“Scott, wait,” she pleaded. She knew he was sensitive, extra sensitive lately, and that she had just let herself speak before thinking which was not like her at all. She had just felt suffocated by him and needed to breathe.

He stopped and pulled his room key out of his pocket.

“Scott—”

“This is me,” he said, pointing at the door three down from hers. “It’s okay, T. You have a paper to write.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just...it came out wrong. I—”

“I’m not upset, Virtch. I’ll see you in a bit. Go get to work, I’ve wasted enough of your time tonight.”

With that he tapped his room key on the lock and disappeared inside his hotel room.

Just three doors down from hers.

Tessa swallowed thickly, not realizing how close he was staying, as she was left standing alone in the hallway, Chanel lay at her feet, the pink lead tethering the pair together and hanging between them in a similar fashion to whatever it was that hung unfinished between Tessa and Scott.

*

“Hey,” she said softly as she opened her hotel room door to him three minutes before their conference call.

“Hi,” he replied with a grin, but avoided eye contact with Tessa as he reached his hand out to scratch Chanel on the top of her head.

Tessa noticed immediately that Scott was freshly showered and smelled amazing and since it was post dinner, she would look past the fact that he was wearing a ratty Leafs t-shirt and the black sweatpants with the hole in the crotch. She won’t tell you how that got there, but it was her fault.

“I didn’t know the meeting was pyjama-casual or else I would have changed,” she joked in an attempt to lighten things, even though they felt good in the present moment, despite their hallway incident an hour ago. A little extra lightening never hurt, she figured.

Scott ignored her line, unsure if it was in jest or not and flipped the conversation back on her.

“Paper done?”

“No,” she huffed.

That was the truth. She had spent her hour alone stressing and over-analyzing every last detail of their time together earlier that evening and now she was doing the same with how he spent his last hour alone.

_Did he have a joint shower session with his fiancée over video chat? Don’t put those images in your head Tess; you’ll just make things worse. He’s moved on and you just need to make due with the shitty—_

“What in the world are you doing, Moir?”

Scott had dug through the suitcase Tessa had not yet unpacked and pulled out a silky grey camisole and matching lace panties.

“Is this all you brought to sleep in?” he asked as he turned around, holding up what little there was of her _good_ pyjamas.

Tessa blushed and rushed over to snatch them from Scott’s hand.

Yes, they didn’t _really_ have boundaries, but they were no longer together like _that_ and the idea of her lacy undergarments in his fingers made her wet and she hated that he still had that hold over her when he was with someone else.

“You didn’t even look, you just took what was on top,” she huffed, stuffing the grey silk and lace down towards the bottom of her suitcase. She didn’t even know why she brought it with; it clearly was not for Scott, or anyone else who would be on the tour with them. It was partially just to make her feel good, even though the colour matched her mood, and partially out of hope that someone unexpected might materialize; someone just for _her_.

She turned back around holding a pair of thin, pink cotton pyjamas, a new and perfect matching set in comparison to Scott’s broken-in mismatched ones. She raised an eyebrow and tossed the pink set on her bed but she was not about to conduct official business over video chat in her sleepwear. She would change later like any self-respecting human.

*

Turns out, they were so close to the start of the tour, barely three weeks left to go, that there wasn’t much to discuss. Everything had been arranged, just minor details and last minute discussions regarding promotion. The tour managers would arrive later next week and Tessa and Scott were to use this week to polish their programs ahead of the other skaters arriving. Tessa felt anxious about how much elbow grease they definitely needed to apply to the squeaky hot mess that was their programs. She knew they could pull it off, they were the consummate professionals and the audience wasn’t nearly as fussy and eagle-eyed as those nine judges.

She hoped, anyways.

After disconnecting the call, Scott leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. “Well, early morning ice time, I know I definitely need it. You don’t though, Virtch.”

Tessa scoffed at his comment. “Oh, but I do—”

“I’m sure you have the choreo memorized for both of us, God knows I’ll fuck up every third step. Anyways, I’m headed to bed; share a ride to the rink in the morning?”

She nodded, appreciating his thoughtfulness for ride sharing, and having no comment regarding him forgetting his steps. That was a given.

Seconds after Scott left her room; she found herself furiously typing the last few paragraphs of her paper with Chanel lying on her lap. Two read-throughs and she had it submitted with time to spare.

Tessa looked at her watch, she was exhausted but no way was she going to sleep when it was not even eleven yet; her mind was still wound up. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of her pink pyjamas still sitting on her bed and put Chanel down on the floor.

She sighed as she walked towards her bathroom, still annoyed at herself for calling out Scott earlier. She felt she owed him a formal apology or something. _Would an ‘I’m sorry’ coffee tomorrow morning be sufficient?_ she thought to herself as she ran her brush through her hair and darkened her eyeshadow and added some lipstick, Mehr, because she was feeling a touch nostalgic tonight. When didn’t she feel that way though?

As she walked back towards her suitcase, she considered changing her outfit, but figured the black jeans and a graphic t-shirt she had on would suffice. She pulled her black leather jacket from her suitcase and a black pair of four inch pumps, promising herself she would take the time to finish unpacking when she returned, before she was allowed to go to sleep.

*

Scott heard her voice before he saw her. She had sidled up to the hotel bar he had been sitting at, with two big guys between them, and Scott knew she didn’t see him on the other side. After he had left her room, he had gotten himself dressed in all black, jeans and t-shirt, and pulled a Jays cap down low over his hair. As it turned out, he wasn’t ready to sleep either.

“Gin and tonic, please,” she said to the bartender, drumming her fingers on the sticky bar counter.

“Comin’ right up,” he responded, grabbing a glass from the rack and flipping it up in the air to show off.

“Actually, make it a double.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe some alcohol will help them relax a bit?


	3. A Night at the Bar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Various stages of drunkenness await Virtue and Moir

His glass was empty, and he had promised himself just the _one_ Scotch before bed. The problem was, if he got up now, she would certainly see him. The bottom of the barstool would most definitely scrape against the floor, causing her to turn her head, and he would have to walk past her to get to the only exit.

He knew if he didn’t say hi or at least touch her on the shoulder when he walked by and she saw him ignoring her out of the corner of her eye, it would make their skate the next day that much more awkward and they were at the point where they really couldn’t handle anymore awkwardness or tension, and he really wasn’t feeling up to having a full on conversation with her which would inevitably follow the initial contact because he could never not ramble and shove his foot in his mouth around her.

He knew Tessa too well, better than he knew himself sometimes; he was best off staying put, pretending he didn’t know she was sitting two shoulder widths away from him. He sighed and signaled for the bartender when he was done pouring Tessa’s drink.

“Another?”

Scott nodded, pushing his empty glass towards the bartender; his nametag read Sam, another reminder of Tessa. Everywhere Scott went he was painfully reminded of her, even when he propelled himself as far south as he could manage, he still had daily reminders. He had come to accept the constant sting in his heart, but he still didn’t like it.

Scott watched his drink being poured and saw the bartended look at him with a half squinted eye and then over at whom he presumed was Tessa and back at Scott.

_Ah, fuck. Recognized, _Scott groaned internally_._

Tessa took a sip of her gin and tonic as she watched the bartender pour a Scotch for someone a few seats down. _Scott’s favourite brand, maybe I should buy him a bottle of that instead of a coffee as an ‘I’m sorry’ gift?_

She heard someone say _thank you_ and her ears perked up. _It can’t be. He said he was going to bed._ She tried leaning back on her barstool to see if it was really Scott and she nearly fell backwards off of it. Tessa grabbed onto the counter to steady herself, thankful for her core strength but annoyed at her clumsiness. There were two big burly men sitting on her left, obscuring anything she could have seen from her current vantage point anyways. _It can’t be Scott. I’m just wanting it to be, and my mind is playing tricks on me, making me think that man sounds like him. And you’re tired. Finish your drink and get to bed._

She watched the bartender looking over at her with an odd look on his face. She recognized that look. The _‘I know you’_ look.

_Damn it. Can’t even enjoy my drink. Thank God I put in an effort to look decent because this will end up all over social media. Tessa Virtue seen in a bar. Who is she with? Who is she secretly dating? Newsflash, no one._

Tessa forced a flash of her pearly whites at the bartender the next time she saw him looking, hoping he would ask for a quick selfie and then leave her be to enjoy her quiet alone time with her nightcap.

Turns out Sam had more in mind than a quick selfie.

“Would the two of you pose for a picture?” Sam asked, pointing at both Tessa and Scott.

Tessa started to say yes and then frowned. “Two?” she asked.

Scott took the opportunity, he was fucked all around anyways thanks to Sam and Tessa, and he stood up, scraping the barstool legs against the floor.

Tessa whipped her head around and her face fell for a brief second before moving back into a smile. _It is him! Liar! He did not go to bed after all._

“We’d be happy to,” she said through her smile.

_What the hell? He was sitting there the whole time and said fuck all to me? I know he heard me talking to the bartender if I heard him._

Tessa felt Scott’s warm, gentle hand against her back, guiding her off to the side for the photo and effectively pulling her out of her thoughts.

“We coordinated our black outfits, I see,” he said to Tessa through his teeth as they both plastered huge grins on their faces and tipped their heads towards one another while Sam took a few photos of the Olympic champions with his phone.

Sam thanked them and as they moved back towards their seats, Scott felt Tessa’s hand grab onto his.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered in his ear, her heels brought her up to nearly the same height as him.

Scott frowned. _Sorry? She didn't do anything wrong._ “For what, T?” he asked quietly as he squeezed her hand in his.

“That photo. You know it will make the rounds, getting the gossip going on social and your fiancée all riled up.”

She did feel bad about that last part because it meant Scott would be in one of his _moods_ during their practice the next morning and Tessa would have to work extra hard to pull him out of it to get a decent skate laid down.

He hadn’t thought about that. He grimaced and squeezed her hand again. “Tonight my phone is off; I already had told her I was going to bed. I’ll deal with the fallout after we skate. Grab your drink and sit on the empty chair next to me,” he offered. “Might as well do some team building over drinks.”

Tessa opened her mouth and closed it again. She was dumbfounded. _Who is this man? He has been missing for months__!_ She shook her head in disbelief that he would ignore his fiancée for the sake of their practice skate. Tessa almost didn’t fully believe him and she wasn’t about to get her hopes up, but she did as he suggested because this way she could buy him a round of something and make up for her bitchiness from earlier. She picked up her drink and grabbed her bags from the floor.

Once settled on her new barstool, she felt his lips against her ear. His breath was hot and he still smelled like mint, a sure sign that he had only had one drink so far. “Tess, did you bring your dog to a bar?”

Tessa blushed and flicked the lime wedge on the rim of her glass, causing it to fall into her drink. She then poked the lime with her finger, drowning it, before popping her finger into her mouth, licking it clean.

“I’m going to take that as a yes?” Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I’m not allowed to leave her alone in the room as per hotel policy. So, yes I did, and if anyone has a problem with her, I’ll leave. Do _you_ have a problem with Chanel being here?” she snarked, leaning closer towards him, their faces less than a foot apart.

Scott put his hand on Tessa’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and again on her neck, trying to relax her. “No, no problem, and for the record I think you’re a decent dog mom.”

“Decent?” she squawked as she leaned away from him, swatting her hand playfully at Scott’s hand.

He pulled his hand away from her neck, realizing it was too much contact than he should be giving her off the ice now, and put both his hands around his glass of Scotch.

She noticed immediately how his body language stiffened. It always seemed he would relax and be old Scott and then like a switch he was cold and distant again and she hated that.

“Well aside from taking your underage fur child to a bar, so far you seem to be rocking it. I didn’t think you’d be the one with a child first,” he added softly.

Tessa stared into her drink. She didn’t either, although she would hardly count a dog as a child. Dogs were far less complicated to care for, as far as she knew anyways.

An awkward silence fell between them as they sipped their drinks. It took a good ten minutes and Tessa’s empty glass to get the conversation rolling again.

“Another?” Scott asked Tessa as he signaled Sam over to them.

“Oh, I wasn’t going to, but I’ll buy _you_ another. I owe you for my assholyness from earlier tonight,” Tessa insisted.

“You don’t _owe_ me anything. I deserved the call out, T,” Scott said with a sigh. He hadn’t wanted to be alone, he hated it, and he had missed her company.

“Another round for both of you?” Sam interrupted as he stood in front of the athletes with raised brows. He was somewhat surprised with their multiple rounds of drinks, knowing they had a tour coming up soon; he had his tickets already.

Scott downed the last of his Scotch and slammed his glass on the counter. “Same as last time for both of us, please.”

Tessa started to stop Sam from pouring her a double, but he was already halfway through so she let it go. She could handle just one more double. Probably.

*

She was two sips into her third double gin and tonic and feeling very fuzzy. Her head was leaning on Scott’s shoulder and his hand was on her thigh, maybe a little higher than he should have it and definitely in the no-go zone according to his fiancée. To any outside person, they looked like a couple, but they were definitely not.

“I should probably take Chanel for another walk,” Tessa said with a hiccup.

“You can’t go out there, Virtch. Outside, I mean,” Scott said, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth from the alcohol. He had started drinking his Scotch faster to catch up to Tessa, and had now surpassed her, losing count on how many drinks he had ordered. He knew Sam should have cut him off a while back, but Sam was evidently too much of a fan to say anything.

“And why not?” she scoffed loudly as she sat up straight, offended at his suggestion. _Since when is he telling me what I can and cannot do?_

“You’re drunk and it’s very late and I’d never forgive myself if something happened,” Scott insisted. He gave her thigh a squeeze and then pulled his hand away, wrapping it around his glass.

“And just what do you think will happen? Why are you being like this?” she hissed. He had hit a sore spot. _I can damn well take care of myself. I know self-defence._

“It’s dark outside and you’ll get turned around and lost and then I’ll end up roaming the streets tomorrow morning, calling your name like you’re a lost puppy,” he said with a chuckle and she knew he was picturing her pouty face. He had seen it numerous times when she had sent him a video chat, asking for directions to one thing or another. Half the time she either claimed she forgot how to use the map on her phone or it wasn’t taking her where she actually wanted to go.

Tessa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in a huff, knowing he was right. She really was in no condition to be wandering alone in a somewhat unfamiliar city while this drunk.

“Fine. Come with us on our walk.”

*

They stumbled back into the lobby, both laughing loudly over a half-told joke about a drunk looking for his keys under a streetlight. Scott had his arm draped around Tessa’s shoulders as they made their way to the bank of elevators. She lost her balance slightly while putting Chanel down on the floor because Scott leaned more on her than he intended to and both ended up against the wall, their noses touching.

“Hey,” he breathed out in surprise.

“Hi,” she squeaked back.

His breath smelled like the inside of a bottle of Scotch and it was dizzying mixture with her own drunkenness but yet had a note of comfort.

“Our ride’s here,” she said with a nod of her head, and if she hadn’t been drunk, she would have realized what the movement of her head would do.

As her head tipped up, their lips pressed briefly together before Scott steadied himself and pulled away. _It meant nothing, this has happened before on the ice. It meant nothing. It means nothing._ She had to keep repeating that to herself because deep down she wanted it to mean something.

“I’m sorry, that was my fault,” Scott apologized, although they both knew that it was Tessa moving her head that had caused their lips to be reunited, even if it was accidental.

“No,” she breathed out. “That was me. My fault,” she shook her head, it felt very foggy, and there were a lot of confusing thoughts tumbling around and she was breathing fast and knew she needed out of this situation before she did something she knew she would later regret.

“Elevator?” Scott asked, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. The tension between them was palpable, and for a change it was of the sexual variety instead of bitterness and anger.

Tessa nodded as she bit down on her lip.

_Jesus does she have to do that, _Scott thought as he steadied himself and ran his fingers through his hair. That was one of his favourite Tessa-isms and it made him want to back her up against the wall and kiss her until her lips were swollen and red.

He took another step back and held his arm out to hold the elevator door open while he watched Tessa wobble inside like a newborn fawn; Chanel on her lead, following right behind. It had been a long time since he had witnessed Tessa this far gone, although he had seen worse; she wasn’t vomiting yet. He stepped inside to find Tessa standing in front of the elevator buttons with a puzzled look on her face.

“Which number is mine?” she asked, her finger swirling between the two and the four.

“Let me drive,” he husked out low in her ear as he guided her finger to the button with a six printed on it.

“No drinking and driving,” she laughed, poking her finger into his chest and branding him with her touch; something he would feel all night long as he tossed and turned, alone in his hotel room, just three doors down from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Tessa and Scott hit the ice and bring their hangovers along with them


	4. Weekend at Bernie's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well…then I would drag you out with me on the ice, Weekend at Bernie’s style, and curse at you the whole time for your stiff body posture,” she sighed with annoyance. She was being completely serious...dead serious.

Five-fifteen rolled around far sooner than either of them appreciated. With a hangover raging, Tessa made her way down to the hotel lobby with Chanel, dressed in a thick purple sweater, by her side. There she found Scott waiting with a Tim Horton’s cup in each hand, and his skate bag at his feet.

Scott heard Chanel’s nails clicking on the tile floor of the lobby, causing him to crack his eyes open and look up. The bright lights of the hotel lobby hurt and he wished he had thought to wear sunglasses like Tessa was wearing. He eyed the giant suitcase she was pushing in addition to her smaller skate bag but said nothing. It hurt to move every muscle in his body and he had barely made it the one block over to pick up coffees for them and back again without wanting to die.

Tessa stopped her bags in front of Scott and looked him up and down. _He looks like shit, guess that makes two of us hurting this morning._

“I need to take her outside to do her business. We’ll be right back,” she mumbled and watched his head nod slightly, acknowledging her, but just barely.

*

When she returned, Tessa found their car waiting in front of the hotel, all their bags loaded in the trunk, and Scott sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed, clutching his coffee like a lifeline. For a self-proclaimed morning person, he was acting anything but today.

Tessa slid into the back seat through the open door, Chanel cradled in her arms.

“What’s with the big-ass suitcase, Virtch,” Scott mumbled without opening his eyes. “You movin’ out?”

Tessa rolled her eyes and looked at Scott. His eyes were still closed. She almost felt bad enough to offer him her sunglasses. _Almost_.

“Chanel’s things. How did you sleep last night?” she asked as their driver closed the car door for her.

“Not great. You?”

“Well I got back to my room and realized I had to finish unpacking my clothes and that took a while because I was drunk, so who knows where the stuff ended up. Then I decided to pack up for today and by the time that was done it was after two o’clock but I managed to fall asleep quickly.”

“You only had three hours of sleep? Why the hell are you so chipper?”

Tessa shrugged and turned to look out her window. “I’m not, I feel gross but I’m pushing through because I need to own the choices I make and I have responsibilities to Chanel.”

*

By the time they reached the rink and Tessa had fussed enough over getting Chanel organized in the players box, Scott was in a slightly better mood and more awake. He had started his warm up without Tessa, which was their new normal. They did more things apart than together now, and both of them hated it, but neither liked admitting that out loud.

Tessa took a deep breath before stepping out onto the ice in an attempt to calm her jitters. They were rehearsing Carmen today, and it was a very..._physical_ program. They were still working out the changes and disagreeing on just how sexy they could make it. Tessa was pushing hard for the original non-Mickey Mouse version, claiming it would give fans what they want to see and that they could take the program to where it should have been. Of course Scott was resisting, thanks to his fiancée and her constant nagging about him being engaged and acting less sexy on the ice.

He wanted something easier with less lifts and technical elements, similar to their Art on Ice version in 2016, and Tessa wanted to take it more along the lines of their 2013 Worlds version but sexier, knowing they would end up with something in between the two. She knew Scott would be hard to convince and he was already compromising a lot on their Côté collaboration.

Tessa skated towards the opposite end of the rink from Scott, appreciating his suggestion to keep the lights low and thankful for the extra strength ibuprofen she had popped as her breakfast.

Scott instinctively knew when she was warmed up and ready, and appeared by her side without either of them speaking or acknowledging the other. He got straight to work, talking through the elements of the program, with Tessa interjecting her suggestions. He seemed surprisingly open to her ideas to increase the sexiness of the program and quick to suggest they do a run through of the first half to start.

Tessa had a feeling things were going too well for their 2019 partnership that morning, and she was right. Her gut is always right and she should really stop doubting it.

Scott was bringing Tessa out of their straight line lift and he caught his toe pick on the ice. He went down hard, pushing Tessa away from him. She landed fine, she felt as though he had set her down gently, rather than dropping her, so she was grateful for that. She sat on the ice for a moment, dazed as to what had just happened as she watched and waited for Scott to move or sit up. When he didn’t, she called his name. He didn’t reply, which worried her for several seconds as she got up and skated over to Scott.

“Scott?” she called out again as she knelt beside him, this time her voice was shaky.

“I’m too fucking old and fat for this shit and my head fucking hurts,” he mumbled against the ice. “Besides, pressing my forehead on the ice makes my headache feel better. You go on without me. No one will be coming to see me in the shows anyways.”

She let go of the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. _Thank God he’s okay_. “Stop being so dramatic.”

“I’m serious about the ice on my forehead. Try it, T. I know you have a headache, I can see it in your eyes that you’re in pain,” he insisted. Even though their relationship was broken and they had drifted apart, her eyes still held her secrets, and he could still decode every last one.

Tessa sighed, and when she realized he was being serious and not getting up, she laid down beside him, pressing her forehead against the cool sheet of ice.

“Mmm,” she groaned. “Cold but soothing.”

“See?” he grumbled.

“You know...I thought you were _actually_ hurt,” she sighed with annoyance.

He was quiet for a few minutes, his head still on the ice. “So what if I was?”

“You would still have to skate every show; you’re co-headliner. No way you’re getting out of performing for our tour,” she insisted.

“What if I was dead?” he quickly retorted.

“Don’t say that, Scott. You’ll jinx yourself!”

“Well?”

“Well…then I would drag you out with me on the ice, Weekend at Bernie’s style, and curse at you the whole time for your stiff body posture,” she sighed with annoyance. She was being completely serious..._dead_ serious.

Scott laughed loudly at that; so loud it made his head hurt more but his heart hurt less. He missed this...he missed _them_.

His laughter of course got Tessa laughing as she visualized dragging Scott’s cold, stiff body around on the ice.

“Please don’t die, not yet anyways,” she said softly as she lifted her head up off the ice to look at him. _I can’t actually live without you in my life._

He felt her eyes boring through the side of his head, so he rolled over and held his hand out towards her. She gave it a squeeze, a little harder than she probably needed to, but he appreciated the pain and it got her point across. He would miss her too if either of them checked out early.

“We have a show to put on, Virtch. You’re stuck with me until the end of November,” he replied with a serious face. This was work and he would show up for the tour he committed to, regardless of their strained friendship. A small part of him still hoped they could mend their relationship over the next two months, because the opposite would be severing ties for good and he didn’t _really_ want that, despite what it looked like to outsiders.

*

“Sorry, I know I said I wasn’t going to...but this is her seventh call since I turned my phone on and I have over thirty text messages from her. She isn’t going to let up and it’s screwing with my concentration every time my phone buzzes,” Scott grumbled as he pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket.

“Go ahead,” Tessa sighed and waved Scott off as she skated away from him and towards the boards. She wanted to check on Chanel anyways.

Tessa entered the players’ box where she had set up Chanel for the morning, and put on her skate guards. She found Chanel curled up inside her Cozy Cave bed, with one leg sticking out from under the domed cover. She reached down and tickled her finger in between the pads of Chanel’s foot. It quickly retreated inside and a few seconds later Chanel crawled forward just enough for her head to poke out of the opening.

“Hi baby,” Tessa cooed as she knelt beside the dog bed. “Are you doing okay?” she asked, scratching her fingers behind Chanel’s ears. Tessa could feel the heat radiating out of the dog bed in contrast to the cool rink and she was pleased that the product was keeping her puppy as warm as promised.

Chanel wiggled her plump body out of her cocoon and onto Tessa’s lap. Tessa knew Chanel had missed her; she was a people person and craved human interaction. Sort of the opposite of Tessa, but they balanced each other out well. Tessa liked the warm body and affection Chanel offered, but also the lack of incessant chatter. She was already used to the chewing thing, that was something Chanel had in common with Scott. 

Of course Tessa couldn’t help but overhear every word being yelled through Scott’s phone in the empty rink. He was holding it a foot away from his ear as his fiancée screeched her displeasure. Several of her friends, including Scott’s cousin, had texted her the photo of him and Tessa at the bar from the night before. Tessa heard words like _filthy liar, cheater_, and _calling off the wedding,_ but she knew his fiancée meant none of those things..._probably_.

Tessa smirked slightly as she sipped the last of her now cold coffee, knowing nothing actually happened between them, but understanding how it could appear as if something had. “I think Scott is going to be a while. Let’s go for a walk my happy girl.”

*

Returning to the ice, Tessa felt refreshed. She had cuddles from her pup and a brisk walk outside. Scott on the other hand...

“I’m all hot and sweaty and pissed off from that phone call!” Scott shouted up at the ceiling as he returned his cell phone to his pocket.

His back had been turned to Tessa and he missed seeing her gracefully glide onto the ice like she hadn’t a care in the world.

“Great, direct that passion into your character and let’s get back at this. Clock is running,” she said sweetly, ignoring his attitude and grumpiness.

Scott jumped at the sound of her voice, not realizing she had returned. He groaned and shook his arms out. He knew his anger would be taken out on Tessa for the rest of the morning and he wished they could rewind to half an hour ago when they were laying on the ice and laughing together.

*

“Recovery this afternoon?”

“Mmmm,” she hummed and nodded in response, but kept her gaze directed out of the car window. The rest of their practice had not gone well and she was tired of propping him up.

“Meet you back in the lobby at eight tonight for round two?” he asked, trying to keep the conversation afloat but failing miserably. He knew he had been a jerk to her on the ice for the last part of their practice; he was in a fowl mood courtesy of his fiancée. They had to beg borrow and steal ice time wherever they could for this tour, Gadbois wasn’t at their disposal, so split ice shifts at gross hours it was.

“Yup,” she replied, heavily popping the P.

Scott knew he had fucked up, and badly. He had no idea how they were going to make it through two months of this without killing each other. _How has our partnership been reduced to this?_

Chanel turned to look at Scott, her dog tags jingling. She stuck out her tongue and panted, giving him the sweetest puppy smile. It melted his frozen heart and he was glad Tessa at least had Chanel. Lord knows she didn’t have any part of Scott anymore.

*

Scott had just finished taking a shower and was currently naked as the day he was born standing in front of his hotel room closet. He was deciding if he should put on his good sweatpants or his comfy sweatpants with the hole in the crotch, when he heard a hotel room door close loudly and then the familiar jingling of dog tags.

He was one large step away from his door, so he needed to confirm his suspicion. He watched through the peephole as Tessa and Chanel walked down the hallway, he assumed to the elevators. He wanted to talk to Tessa and apologize for being a jerk earlier, so he quickly got dressed and caught the next elevator down to the lobby in hopes that they were headed to the dog park and he could catch up with them.

*

Tessa stepped off the elevator and ran across the lobby, throwing her arms around his neck with a squeal of delight. “This is the best surprise ever! I thought you were away for the next few weeks?”

“My schedule had a last minute opening, and I thought you could use a friend to hang out with during your breaks from the ice,” the man said as he rubbed his hand up and down Tessa’s back. “Also, I wanted to meet this little Miss before you guys head off on tour.”

The man grinned widely as he bent down to scoop Chanel into his arms. “Hello Chanel! Oh my goodness aren’t you the cutest?” He nuzzled his face with Chanel’s and laughed at the little puppy kisses she gave him in return.

“That was really sweet of you. I appreciate you making time for me, but you sort of already met her?”

“Electronically meeting someone doesn’t really count, Tess. God she’s so small and adorable, just like you,” he laughed loudly as he pulled Tessa in for another hug.

*

Scott looked around the empty lobby, wondering how he had missed her. He thought he had been quick about getting dressed, but reading the three text messages from his fiancée must have taken longer than he had thought.

He walked out the front doors of the hotel and was about to cross the street when he heard Tessa's big, booming laugh floating across the street. He narrowed his eyes, hoping he was seeing things wrong.

“Damn it. What the fuck is he doing here?” Scott grumbled through gritted teeth and clenched jaw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you want this mystery man to be? (I already have someone picked out, but could be swayed to change him if you have a convincing argument) 
> 
> Who would make Scott's jaw clench? (I have a list)


End file.
